Gulu court stuck with 3,000 cases

The  Gulu High Court is stuck with 3,056 unheard cases, according to resident judge Phillip Odoki. 
Justice Odoki made the statement on Monday before the  commencement of a four-day criminal session of the Court of Appeal.
The session, opened by Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Buteera, will end on March 30  at the  Gulu High Court . 
Justice Odoki said the Gulu High Court is overwhelmed by case backlog, with some cases having been filed 20 years ago. 
He said the majority of these cases are related to land, sexual offences, and gender-based violence.  
“In terms of case backlog at the moment our case log stands at 3,056 with the oldest being a case of 2003. All efforts are being made to ensure that these cases are disposed of,” he said.
Justice Odoki also decried a lack of space and manpower.  

“Right now, we have one transcriber, one secretary. The clerks who do translation in courts are the same clerks who go to the registry to register cases,” Justice Odoki said.
He added: “We are now two judges but the human resource does not respond to the number of judges.”
In response, Deputy Chief Justice Buteera said there are delays in several courts in disposing of cases due to inadequate human resources. 
He, however, said the Judiciary is working on expanding its manpower by, among others, recruiting a chief magistrate in every district and a magistrate per county. 
The plan will be implemented starting next financial year if they are approved and allocated funds.
Justice Buteera also said the Judiciary plans to recruit more personnel, from the initial nine to 21 judges for the Supreme Court, from 15 to 26 judges at the Court of Appeal and from 80 to 150 judges for the High Court. 
Meanwhile, Justice Fredrick Egonda is presiding over the criminal session in Gulu. Justices Catherine Bamugemereire and Irene Mulyagonja are also handling cases in this session. 
During the ceremony, the authorities offered half an acre at Senior Quarters in Pece-Laroo Division to the Judiciary for the construction of a Court of Appeal chambers for the northern region. 
Gulu City mayor Alfred Okwonga said having the chambers would help communities access the appellate court, instead of travelling to Kampala. 
Justice Odoki said the construction of the Court of Appeal chambers  in Gulu City will also provide space for the High Court. 
“I am very pleased to note that the mayor has already made the offer. This will help us to get our own home,” he said. 
Justice Odoki said the High Court currently holds sessions within the buildings that were meant to house the chief magistrate’s court. 
He added: “This building we are in was constructed for the chief magistrate’s court and we are really inconveniencing them.”
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